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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29893905">Stronger</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/grace_lou_freebush/pseuds/grace_lou_freebush'>grace_lou_freebush</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Parent Death, Post-War, Song fic, no beta we die like men</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 17:42:25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>908</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29893905</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/grace_lou_freebush/pseuds/grace_lou_freebush</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>On the night of Lucius's death, Hermione comforts Draco.</p><p>HP Pop Punk Fest 2021 - Day 6, Fall for You</p><p>
  <em>A lump caught in his throat, and his eyes stung. Before he'd realized he was crying, Hermione stood before him, gazing down into his face, and wiped the overflowing tears from his cheeks. Her fingers came away red with blood, black with ink.</em>
</p><p> <em>A physical reminder of his failure to be stronger, to stop causing pain wherever he roamed, accidental or not.</em></p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>51</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>HP Pop Punk Fest 2021</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Stronger</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I've been on an angst train, but for a pop punk fest, that shouldn't be too surprising, right? Lol.</p><p>HP Pop Punk Fest 2021 - Day 6, Fall for You</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Draco shot a curse at the ornate desk. Inkwells and parchments and books and picture frames exploded with a riotous crash, ink, paper, and glass zipping through the room until they collided with the nearest solid object. Draco happened to be the nearest solid object for much of the shrapnel.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Well, that's mature."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Draco whipped around at the familiar, if a bit sardonic, voice. His eyes alit on dark brown curls pulled back at the crown and billowing around narrow shoulders. Hermione's eyes pierced through him more painfully than the glass shards in his cheek, and her full lips pursed into an unimpressed frown.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just seeing her there, in his father's study, sent him to his knees.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The swirling cacophony of confused emotions spiralled tighter and tighter in his gut. The crackling of accidental magic coursed through his veins, and he clutched the handle of his wand tightly to hold onto the conduit. He may have made an arse of himself already, but he wouldn't allow his out-of-control emotions to lash out on Hermione.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A lump caught in his throat, and his eyes stung. Before he'd realized he was crying, Hermione stood before him, gazing down into his face, and wiped the overflowing tears from his cheeks. Her fingers came away red with blood, black with ink.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A physical reminder of his failure to be stronger, to stop causing pain wherever he roamed, accidental or not.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"This is not what I intended," Draco promised through his tight throat, choking the words out. She had to know. He hadn't meant to lash out; he'd meant to hold himself together. He wasn't a child any longer, and tantrums should have been beneath him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Oh, I know, Draco," Hermione crooned, lightly pulling the shards out of his skin with her wand. The coolness of the healing spells washed over each nick as she went.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I always swore to you I'd never fall apart." He couldn't keep the whine from his voice, though he'd tried. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She'd never asked that of him, that he maintain any sort of ideal in front of her, but it's what she deserved. A man who could be as strong as she was, who could stand against adversity like she did, who didn't mourn the death of an evil man.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"He was your father, Draco. It's ok to miss him and feel shocked and confused." Merlin, she always knew what to say. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His stomach ached with whiplash, liked he'd taken too many portkeys in a row. Despite his father’s being locked in Azkaban for five years, Draco half expected him to walk through the door and exclaim at the sight that would meet him - whether the worse of the sights was Hermione, clutching his son tenderly, or the state of his desk, Draco couldn't decide. But Hermione's words soothed him, like the cooling balm of her healing charm, his emotional aches settled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When Draco bumbled around, fucking shit up and making an arse of himself, Hermione was always there with the right words and her swotty attitude, cleaning up his mess. It had happened often enough that Draco should be used to it by now, but somehow it still always surprised him. Like seeing her in the doorway of his father's study as he searched out a place to be alone to crumble and rage.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione siphoned the blood and ink and tears off his face and placed her wand on an unscathed corner of the desk. Stepping back into his personal space, she gathered Draco in her arms, cradling him against her chest. The feel of her hands trailing through his hair sent shivers down his back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Easing into her comforting hold, Draco allowed himself to crack a little and let the well of emotion and tears trickle out. He'd promised her he would be strong. For her. And he may have failed in that, but he had always loved her, he would always love her. The very fact that she was with him now, that she could love him a fraction of what he felt for her, filled him with awe.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her faith in his strength, in her acceptance of his weakness paved the way for him to heal himself. It mortared up the fractures that continuously popped up in his life and made him whole. She made him feel like he was better as he was than as he thought he should have been.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She stood with him, validating him while he was at his weakest, and a new emotion swelled within Draco. A fierce, swift, </span>
  <em>
    <span>strong</span>
  </em>
  <span> emotion.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was falling for her all over again, on the night of his father's death. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His father who had secured him a spot on his House team and in the Dark Lord's ranks. His father who had taught him how to love his family and hate outsiders. His father who had taught him how to be a man and to cower under another. Draco didn't want to be that man's son.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And yet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He couldn't stop the fount of memory and love from spilling over.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione's fingers brushing his nape grounded him, reminded him that his father did not define him, and stoppered the overflowing tap in his soul.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Draco took a deep, cleansing breath and stood up, finding a foundation in his relationship with Hermione who saw him and accepted him and encouraged him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She always thought that he was stronger, and so he would be.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>At least it ends hopeful, right?? Don't forget to share the love with comments and kudos! Thanks for reading!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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